In drawing on the Australian data from the annual Board of Directors Survey conducted by Heidrick & Struggles and WomenCorporateDirectors, we find a pattern of directors exhibiting frustration at the pace of board refreshment in the face of demographics and changing business conditions.

2012 was an exceptional year for activist investors, as they ousted boards, pushed for corporate breakups and challenged management teams. Many activists succeeded in pressing companies to return cash or do a deal, and some of the biggest brand names in the United States came under siege. According to The Wall Street Journal, several activist funds produced investor returns of more than 20% for th

Over the last decade corporate governance – how companies are directed and controlled – has entered the mainstream. After the ethical scandals from Enron to Worldcom at the start of the new century, greater attention than ever before has been paid to corporate governance both inside and outside corporations. A host of regulations, standards, initiatives, programmes, and much more have emerged; fro

For boards today, the past is prologue. The revolution in expectations for better corporate governance, director accountability, and board composition began some 20 years ago with the initial activism of large institutional investors.